Waiting For The Sun
by kerrime-chan
Summary: After being away for nigh six years, Sasuke finally returns. But to What? Forgiveness? Disdain? Spite? Love? look inside for better summary SasuNaru in later chapters. other pairings will be revealed in the third chapter. please r
1. Sasuke's Return!

**me: Okay so this is my first attempt at fanfiction so... PLEASE DON"T KILL ME!!!!**

_queen: AHEM! Sorry bout little Kerrime, she tends to jump to conclusions a lot_

**OH and Queen? Ya he's my muse... yes "he" so ya if things don't turn out the way you like it... please aim the sharp objects at him**

**Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto... though i wish i owned Kiba... so any way, please enjoy**

After being away from Konoha for nigh six years, Uchiha Sasuke makes his prodigal return, hoping with all hop that his past deeds are forgiven and that he is welcomed with open arms to the place he once called home. However, though he expected some resentment from one Uzumaki Naruto, he wasn't prepared to be greeted with the pain of betrayal shinning in the blondes deep blue eyes nor the hate of being betrayed smoldering in his heart. Will the loathing turn out to be a passing fancy, or has Sasuke's 2nd betrayal severed their bonds completely. One thing is for sure, Sasuke will do anything to see Naruto happy again, even if it means waiting for eternity.

**WAITING FOR THE SUN**

Konoha Village. Peaceful, easygoing, and welcoming. It was just as Sasuke remembered it. Of course he doubted that things would stay that way once he'd crossed the threshold, him technically being a missing-nin and all. And the threshold, The Gates of Konoha, being guarded by two or three ninja who may or may not hesitate to run him through with a kuenai so as to collect the no doubt LARGE bounty on his head. BUT as he was a fair distance away, high up in a tree, he pushed those annoying thoughts of 'potential death' to the corner of his mind, to worry about when he was ready to confront them.

He was sitting on top of the highest (and thinnest) branch of the tree, enjoying the subtle breeze that raked around his body every now and again and observing the villagers as they went about their daily with a critical eye. There was a sense of calm hanging in the morning air. Sasuke drank it in greedily. He hadn't been able to relax like this for eons. Having been used like a slave by Orochimaru for three and a half years and too preoccupied with the task of locating and killing his murderous brother for… well since he could remember but it had plagued him fully in the months after successfully escaping Orochimaru.

His gaze wandered over the carvings of the Hokage's. They had added a fifth one in his absence. Probably that golden haired woman….What was her name again…. Started with a Tsu- didn't it? Yes. Yes it did… Tsu? Tsuzuki? Tsusui….Tsunda? Now he remembered, Tsunade! Tsunade, he had doubted that she'd make a good Hokage but it seemed she was doing her job. He was surprised though, that Naruto hadn't gotten his head carved into the mountain yet. He had had his mind set on returning when they both had achieved their goals. His being killing his brother, and Naruto becoming Hokage.

'Tell me… Can someone who can't even save his friend become Hokage?' echoed tauntingly in his mind. He snarled and closed his eyes. That day, when he had seen Naruto for the first time in nearly 3 years, and had almost killed him again, that was the day that Orochimaru's brain-washing began to wear off. That was the day he decided to go out on his own, relying on no one but himself to achieve his goal. It was amazing how much just one chance meeting with the blonde had influenced his life. I-if it wasn't for Naruto…Naruto…probably loathed him now, having been betrayed by a friend. His first friend. That must have been hell for the kid, must have suffered more than when the villager's whispered about him behind his back, calling him monster.

Maybe it was better that Naruto hadn't become Hokage yet. This way he would have a better chance of explaining himself without being thrown up against a wall and the crap beaten out of him by a fiesty blonde boy clothed in white. Yes, Yes. Tsunade-sama would be the voice of reason and listen to him… He hoped that she would listen to him before handing him over to the ANBU; or worse, a hunting-nin. He shuddered at the thought of a hunting-nin slicing off his head after he had come this far, achieved so much. So instead of dwelling on the negative he prayed fervently to the gods he didn't believe in that Tsunade-sama would give him a second chance. Cuff him on his head then send him on his way, that sort of thing. Besides she had no reason to worry about him. He had cut ties with traitors long ago. Traitor

Flashes of Sakura standing in front of him, crying, Naruto yelling at him from the other side of a raging waterfall, Kakashi staring with disapproval seeping out of his eye. Peaceful time spent training, hectic days saving Naruto, jumping in front of him to block a sudden onslaught of needles, smirking at a certain blonde's audacity, beating himself up after failing where Naruto had succeeded. Glancing at Konoha for the last time, running away from the one place he could be happy to seek power. Power that he never needed in the first place.

He gripped his hair in frustration. Letting out a long groan. Who was he trying to kid, trying to avoid the inevitable by reminiscing about the past. A past that he couldn't forget no matter what he did. He wanted to start over. Which was why he was returning (or that's what he kept telling himself) to make memories that would block that dark, dark past.

'I'll have to return sooner or later,' he whispered to himself as he stood, stretching his sore muscles as he did so. Then he adjusted his kimono, which seemed adamant about not staying on his shoulder. Kimono malfunctions aside, he jumped out of the tree.

Yes… Jumped

As he fell he grabbed onto a branch, swinging himself to the next one, maneuvering his body over another one. He found tree falling to be a great exercise. Next he used his chakra to run down the trunk and his velocity to catapult himself to the next tree only to run down the trunk again. The wind served as a sort of calmative, wiping the troubling thoughts from his mind as it ruffled through his hair. He smirked as the ground approached and vaulted into a somersault, landing in a crouch on the grassy forest floor. He stood up and made a step towards the Gates of Konoha, but found that he couldn't move.

"What?" he murmured, eyes widening. He tried to take another step and failed again. Something clicked in his mind and he looked at his feet to verify if his guess was right, and it was. His shadow had been stretched it seemed, in a long loopy line. He followed the blackness with his eyes until a pair of sandal clad feet came into view. He trailed his gaze up the body, to hands clutched together in front of a white ceramic mask marked with red, up to the high-spiked ponytail.

"Uchiha Sasuke." a voice wafted lazily from behind the mask.

Sasuke was pretty sure his mouth fell open. "N-Na-Nara Shikamaru?"

**NaNa cliffhanger eh? Didn't expect it to end like this huh? So is the mysterious man really Shikamaru? And what is he gonna do to poor defenseless Sasuke.. Tune in next chapter to find out :3**


	2. Shika the Sadist?

**AH….. I noticed I spelled kunai kuenai in the last chapter. My mistake. **

**Disclaimer: see first chapter**

**Warnings: There are a couple of spoilers in this chapter for ****Naruto Shippuuden****, from the manga part to be exact. Um… And I think there's a bit of character OOC.**

_Thoughts_

Narration

"Speech"

'talking to conscious'

**Recap: **He trailed his gaze up the body, to hands clutched together, index and middle of left hand pointing up, right hand grasping them, in front of a white ceramic mask of what looked like a deer marked in various spots with read, up to the high-spiked ponytail.

"Uchiha Sasuke." a voice wafted lazily from behind the mask.

"N-Nara Shikamaru,"

**End Recap**

**Shika the Sadist**

Sasuke's mouth fell open. He was sure of it. _Who would have thought- _"Shikamaru?" he asked again, not really believing the tell tale signs that it was.

The man before him crouched down, bringing his hands into an "o" shape, completely ignoring Sasuke. He sat for awhile like that, thinking, or maybe contemplating the fastest way to kill him. He stood, heaving a big sigh. "Whelp, seeing as you already know who I am, I guess I don't need this anymore." He said, removing the deer mask.

Yup, it was Shikamaru alright. The same old Shikamaru except he had grown taller (doesn't every teenager do that in the course of six years) and he had a stubble of a beard on his chin. But that same old lazy-assed expression adorned his face. "Why are you here, Sasuke-san?" He asked, surveying him with indifferent eyes, a gloved hand buried deep in a pocket.

"That's my business, not yours." Sasuke replied curtly. Curtly because, in truth, he didn't know the answer himself, just had a vague idea that it had something to do with a certain blonde ninja appearing in his dreams recently… No, no, no, had nothing to do with Naruto, NOTH-HING, NOTH-HING, and NOTH-HING, absolutely nothing to do with him. If Sasuke had been able to shake his head he would have, violently, but seeing as Shikamaru was possessing him, he had to settle for moving his eyes back and forth.

He had just woken up one morning, put on his shoes, and then his feet carried him off. Yes that was it. His feet had swept him away. Along with that ridiculous disguise that he had discarded not too long ago that consisted of a shawl, to hide the Uchiha Fan on the back of his kimono and a very droopy hat.

"Fine, don't answer. KUSO! And I was so looking forward to cloud watching on my day off, or a strole in the forest would have sufficed but nooo I had to run into one of the most wanted missing-nin right off the back. Ah how troublesome." He angrily wrenched his hand from his pocket, clutching a smoke pack. He shook out a cigarette and placed it expertly between his thin lips, lighting it promptly after. He took a long drag of it, the smoke on the exhale curling like a snake around its prey. Sasuke shuddered, reminded of the snake man he had escaped years ago.

"I guess I have no choice but to take you to Tsunade-sama. She would kill me if I left you tied to a tree. Women are so troublesome." He shrugged, starting to walk away **(A/N: hmmm, I don't think what he said sounds right, do you? Any suggestions to make it sound better, if so please answer in a review. Thanks K-C) **Sasuke had no choice but to follow, being under Shikamaru's jutsu and all.

**WAITINGFORTHESUNWAITINGFORTHESUNWAITINGFORTHESUNWAIT**

"Ne, Shikamaru-kun?" Sasuke crooned. "I won't run away I-I promise. Believe it or not it was my heh intention to speak to the ahem Hokage, so can you let me out of the jutsu now please?" a vein in his temple was near the bursting point, despite the pleasantness of his tone. He had spent the last few minutes being slapped in the face and below with tree branches. And frankly it was getting fairly painful, the multiple assaults to his already sore body.

Shikamaru regarded him briefly, a smirk tugging at his lips as he walked even farther off the path, causing Sasuke to be forced even closer to the trees. The bark of one tree snagged and tore at his sleeve, barely scraping the skin off his arm. He grimaced.

"I know you won't. But it's for the good of the village that you are under a jutsu that can limit your movements if you should decide to attack. Besides what do you think they would do if they saw one of the Traitorous Uchiha Brothers roaming freely about the streets? Go into hysterics? Throw food or sharper objects? Maybe take justice into their own hands if they were angry enough. I mean that's what I would do. But my position as an ANBU forbids me to do anything to a missing-nin without permission from the Hokage…_unfortunately_." He took another drag of his cigarette. "and I'm the only chance you have at getting pass the gates." He sneered.

Sasuke glared at him, eyes flashing red. He had tasted the venom drenching Shikamaru's words, seen the murderous rage that had distorted his lazy expression for a moment. _What have I ever done to him? _He thought bitterly. He only ever remembered doing Naruto harm.

_So something must have happened to him._ Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember Shikamaru's jutsu being this strong. Last time he had witnessed the jutsu being performed by him, the victim had been able to move their head, twitch their fingers, but he couldn't do any of that. His body was being fully possessed by the jutsu.

"Ne, Shikamaru-san, since when did you smoke?"

Shikamaru removed the cigarette from his mouth, a subtle sadness in his eyes, the slight droop of eyebrows, the tightening of lips. "Since Asuma-sensei died."

Asuma…. Sasuke vaguely remembered the leader of Shikamaru's squad. Tall, dark-haired, tan skin, dark eyes, heavily bearded….always smoking. He blanched. He had tried to move his head to stare at Shikamaru, which was impossible since Shikamaru was looking straight ahead, slightly down, head tilted to the right a bit, eyes gazing left. (A/N: Oh how I love putting a lot of comma's in a sentence:3)

"When,"

"'Bout three and a half years ago,"

"How,"

"Akatsuki,"

Sasuke tried to hide his surprise. The Akatsuki had conquered the Third Hokage's son (A/N: or nephew, I don't know what the relationship between them was) That was…

"Finally! There's the Gates." Shikamaru said. "I'm gonna let you move your head around now, I'm pretty sure you'll want to see what's changed." As soon as he was able to Sasuke stretched the muscles in his neck. Shikamaru replaced his ANBU mask.

They walked in silence the rest f the way, pausing at the threshold for Shikamaru to whisper something into the ear of one of the guards. Sasuke noticed the guards eyes, glance over at him and widen. Shikamaru withdrew from the guard who in turn ran off running into Konoha.

Sasuke glanced suspiciously at the brunette beside him. "What was that about?"

"hn. It's not polite to burst in on someone unannounced now is it?" He said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"No… Not at all," Sasuke said, a small smile resting on his lips as they passed through the gates. Almost instantly a feeling of warmth washed over him, making the horrors of his past seem like a child's fantastical nightmare. He felt as if he had woken up from such a dream to be comforted by a concerned parents embrace. He felt… as if… he was finally… Home.

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**I think i made Shika seem more sadistic than i ment too. um well that was chapter 2.****i'm moving tomorrow so i won't be able to get another chapter up for a couple of days so bare with me people. ****Please R&R, i'd like nothing better than to get feed back, to ensure myself that my writing doesn't completly suck, so please review.**

**Thank You K.C**


	3. As Flowers Wilt

_**Queen: HAHA**__**you people thought you'd gotten rid of me didn't you didn't you, didn't YOU. But the truth is the GREAT Queen is INVINCIBLE **__**gets poked in the side and dies**_

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**Quick recap of what happened in last chapter told in the point of view of lazy Shika-chan: **

Man oh man oh man… something troublesome always has to happen when I'm about to relax. Damn Uchiha. Why the hell did I have to run into him? Couldn't he have run into Kiba or even Shino (though I'm not sure what Shino would do to him. That boy's grown a horribly twisted mind. I blame Kiba)

Well I guess it's for the best. Maybe Tsunade will be so happy that I've done something productive she'll give me an extra day off. Maybe let me go to the Village Hidden in the Sand. It'd be great to see Temari again… damn I'm letting my mind be carried off again. Where was I…. oh yeah. I'm on my way to the Hokage's Office now (A/N: no idea what the place is called. Gomen) with the troublesome Uchiha in tow.

I made sure to let him know right off the back that I didn't approve of his returning, by making him run into trees along the road to Konoha. That wasn't very like me but it was the only thing I could do that was within ANBU regulations to punish him without killing him. I might make him run into more objects once we're in town.

As we neared the gates I replaced my mask. 'ANBU member's identities must always be concealed' I remember being told when I first joined the ANBU corps. I thought it best to not break that rule again, lest Tsunade-sama catches wind of it.

Before crossing into Konoha I pulled the swiftest looking guard over to me, ordering him 'run to the Hokage and tell her that I have captured Uchiha, Sasuke and will be bringing him to her forthwith' he gave me a short nod and sprinted off down the street. "What was that all about?" Uchiha asked me. I ignored him, too busy with the task of pulling out a cigarette. It was then, to my dismay, that I remembered my mouth was currently covered by a troublesome ceramic mask. I cursed to myself and threw the cig to the ground.

"Don't you think it's polite to alert someone when they are about to receive guests?" I said, curtly.

He gave me a polite nod, a smile on his lips. I admit I was taken aback. His smile was so…comforting. I couldn't believe a guy who could smile like this was capable of almost killing a close friend. Twice. _This guy… This guy, _As we passed over the threshold I allowed myself to peek at him. That smile was still there, accompanied by an acute sadness in his black eyes. He whispered one word as he took his first step into the village he had abandoned. "Home." It was so silent, so… hopeful. I had to steel my muscles to keep my eyes from tearing up. Have to keep up the cold exterior I had recently towards the guy who was responsible for harming one of my friends; for harming The King to be.

**Wow…on reflection that's pretty long for a recap. Did yall like it? **

_**I apologize for my Kerrime using her hick language. No matter what I do that girl keeps using that blasted word. Yall Yall. Sounds like a drugged up dog howling at the bloody moon.**_

**hits Queen with a random bamboo stick I'm sorry I thought I had gotten rid of him. **

* * *

**As the Flowers Wilt**

There are many things one thinks about, walking down a street they haven't walked down in six years, glancing at anything and everything, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Like; 'Were there this many bars before, have the streets always been this crowded, am I just now noticing that because I'm taller than I was? How many little brats are running free these days, are they worse than the gang used to be? And why do said brats find it addicting to run into me? What's up with the hair styles these days? I thought my Chicken-ass cut was bad but these cuts are ridiculous. And why does Shikamaru keep snickering every time someone runs into me!'

(Little did he know, the village had been having a festival for the sake of sake)

There are many worries one obtains when they return to a place they once lived, when the circumstances and feelings had been different along with the state of mind. 'Will they all remember me as Shikamaru has? How have they changed? Will they still like me, fear me, respect me? Will they seek my advice, shun me, treat me like dirt for returning or treat me like a god for having the balls to do so… Will HE… Will N-'

Sasuke stared blankly ahead as he and Shikamaru walked down the middle of the street, for the crowd had recently parted like the red sea to let them do so. His ears were ringing with the whispers of the crowd "isn't that the Uchiha kid?" "I heard he was dead!" "No, no, the Uchiha's are demons. They can't be killed." "How dare he show his face around here after what he did to Naru-chan?" came from an old woman wearing a frilly pink apron stained with white powder.

He steeled his heart every time a comment like that came along. For if he didn't, the words caused him as much pain as a leather whip to bare skin and a sword thrust through his chest. Naruto, Naruto… it was actually amusing no matter what lengths he was going too to avoid meeting the blonde ninja, people kept dragging up his memories of him.

But he kept his laughter to himself. He didn't want these people to think they were right, that he was heartless, crazy, not worthy to have once been called a Konoha Ninja. No, all those things described his brother. Of course he couldn't forget the fact that he had almost been consumed by power like his brother had, but unlike him, he had escaped that darkness, thanks to hints of a blue sky and a strong beam of golden light.

Shikamaru suddenly veered to the right, whether to avoid some giant object or to knock Sasuke out of his deep trance. Either way he achieved both goals, but Sasuke got the short hand of the draw, as he was the one who ran into the object… or had the object run into him to be exact. They collided with such force both were knocked back onto the ground.

Sasuke clutched his lower back as best as he could, not being as limber as he wished to be, and squinted at the object in front of him with one eye. He could barely see who it was, because the lazy ANBU was blocking his vision. He seemed to be dusting something off. He moved away from the object, revealing a small girl standing up, rubbing her eyes vigorously. Sasuke's brows knitted, for Shikamaru was glaring at him now.

Shikamaru turned his attention back to the girl, who had brunette hair and pale skin. Her dress, white with many stitchings of the Hidden Leaf's symbol in red, was streaked with dirt near the bottom. "You okay?" Shikamaru asked her. She nodded slowly; peeking through one eye, just like Sasuke was doing, at the mask of the ANBU before her. Her eyes were crimson. After a minute or two of staring, her sad expression turned jubilant and she flung her small body at Shikamaru, simultaneously shrieking "Shi-nii-chan!" who caught her in his arms and spun her around in the air, like a father would his child.

He stopped swinging her around and brought a finger to her lips. "Hush, Yukiko-chan. You can't be shouting my name to the world. I'm part of the ANBU remember. Need to keep my identity secret." He whispered playfully to her. Sasuke didn't see the point of him wearing the ANBU mask around the village, there was no mistaking his spiky pony tail or his lazy demeanor. He shrugged, then amazed to find he could actually do it, he did it again, and then stood up, smiling triumphantly.

In the collision Shikamaru's hold on Sasuke's shadow had dissipated, leaving him as free as a bird. He took a couple of steps this way and that, to make sure he was actually free and smiled even bigger. He started to walk away from the girl and Shikamaru.

"Hmm… I have a feeling I've forgotten someone, Yukiko-chan." He heard Shikamaru tell the little girl. He started walking faster, least Shikamaru capture him again. He hadn't gone but a few feet when his whole body seemed to seize up. He groaned, vision blurring, breathing slowing down. _What's…happening? _He asked himself as darkness closed in about him. He collapsed in a heap on the ground.

**Now that would've been a terrific spot to end this chapter, but since I haven't updated in awhile (seems like awhile to me) I'm gonna trudge against the current that is writer's block, and get this chapter as long as I can. **

His stomach was burning. He imagined this pain was equivalent to what Naruto had felt when he had used _Chidori _on him. His face was constantly being smacked by something hard. His legs seemed to be asleep. He could feel something slung around his waist and could hear someone breathing laboriously. He opened his eyes to black… _Black? That can't be right. It's still day time. _No. it wasn't black. It was a smoky gray and felt like a soft material, like cotton.

He used his elbows to prop himself up and saw the dirt road below him. His brows knitted. "The ground?" he grunted, attempting to right his vision but was prevented as the grip around his waist tightened. "You shouldn't move, Uchiha" Shikamaru said, adjusting the teenager's body a bit, so his shoulder wouldn't hurt as much.

"Wh-? SHIKAMARU-SAN PUT ME DOWN!" Sasuke yelled, recovering from his drowsiness.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Don't want you running off again. Not that you could, the effects of the Paralysis Jutsu haven't fully worn off yet."

Sasuke's eye twitched. "of course I can walk! See?" He attempted to swing off Shikamaru's shoulder, only succeeding in having his legs wrap around his middle, arms around his neck. "Whee!" was heard as his legs swung around. He saw a blur of white and red clothing spin off of his right leg and land perfectly safe on the ground.

It was Yukiko. _That brat hitched a ride on my legs? Dammit no wonder I can't walk, she cut off the circulation of my blood._ "and why exactly was she on my leg?" Sasuke asked. He glanced at Shikamaru. His mask had been knocked off in the brief tussle, he was staring at Sasuke with wide eyes. "Yo dude, why aren't you answering me?" Sasuke persisted. Then he noticed the close proximity in which their bodies were. **(bwahahaha, can anybody say Shika/sasu?)**

"Shi-nii-chan… Why are you and Mr. Rooster blushing?" Yukiko asked, moving to climb up Shikamaru's leg.

Shikamaru woke from his shock and promptly dropped Sasuke.

"Kuso! Why do I keep getting thrown to the ground?" Sasuke cursed, glaring at Shikamaru, who was leaning to retrieve his mask off said ground.

"s your own fault Mr. Rooster. You keep getin'n peoples way." Yukiko said from her perch on top of Shikamaru's head.

Shikamaru sighed, gently removing Yukiko's legs from around his neck. "You should go home, Yukiko." He said, placing her on the ground. "You're mother's probably worried about you."

"Aww Shi-nii, do I have to?"

"yes ma'am you do." He said, ruffling her hair.

Sasuke stood up, dusting off his kimono as best he could. Times like this he wished his kimono wasn't white. He watched them discreetly, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.

Yukiko hugged Shikamaru quickly and ran off, disappearing into a crowd of people.

"So who was the kid?" Sasuke asked. They had started their progression to Hokage Headquarters again, once Shikamaru had made sure Yukiko wasn't gonna follow them.

He was silent for awhile. "Kurenai-senpai's daughter,"

"Anno…Anno. Kurenai was Hinata-san's sensei, ne?"

"Hai."

"Ah, now that I think about it Yukiko-kun has her mother's pale skin and eyes. Which leaves the question: Who's the lucky guy?" Sasuke thought of all the men in Konoha with brunette hair…. There was Shikamaru and his father, Kiba, Shino, Neji's father had sort of brown hair….No way… it couldn't be- "It's not Iruka-san is it?!"

Shikamaru seemed to be having a hard time breathing behind his mask. He was "Shikamaru-san? Why are you laughing?"

" Just you're guess that the father is Iruka. My god I forgot that you haven't been around to hear the gossip about Iruka-sensei and someone you know fairly well."

"What gossip? Who?" Not that he really wanted to know. He wasn't the kind of person who thrived on that sort of dirt, but I mean. What the hell, as long as the topic was thrown up in the air, why not indulge in it?

"Well… it's actually not gossip; they've been together in public on a number of occasions."

"…who?" If it was Naruto and Iruka, the brunette teacher had better watch his back. Man it was downright disgusting, he couldn't even think about it without getting sick. Iruka was like a father to Naruto. Naruto had told him that on many occasions; if their relationship had turned into anything more than father and son, why. Why that was just downright INCESTOUS.

"Iruka and Kakashi of course!"

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks. He could actually see them together, see Iruka sitting in Kakashi's lap, eating strawberries… seductively, Kakashi, the action of licking his lips making a barely there indent in his mask. Sasuke was shocked… damn that was disturbing; who would've thought the pervy teacher was batting for the other team.

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**Ah the story didn't progress as far as I wanted it to cuz I got distracted by the cuteness of Yukiko-chan. Can anyone guess who her father is? It's pretty easy if you've read Naruto Shippuuden…..**

_**What bout the pairings duckie?**_

…**pairings?**

_**Yea, remember you said the pairings would be revealed in the third chapter?**_

…**right…sweat drop**

**Hmm… Kakashi/Iruka**

**Sasuke/Naruto**

**Kiba/Shino**

**Shikamaru/Temari**

**Gaara/Hinata **

**Neji/Tenten **

**Lee/Sakura**

**Chouji/Ino**

**Hmm and I don't have any one for Sai or Kankurou yet. Oh oh oh. Please note the pairings may or may not change in further chapters.**

**Thank for reading, please review**

**Kerrime-chan and **_**Queen**_


	4. As Flowers Wilt pt 2

Kakashi and Iruka, Iruka and Kakashi; the possibility that the two most eligible bachelors of the Konoha Village were hitting it up together was… immensely disturbing. Immensely because well, Sasuke couldn't keep himself from imagining the two men as such (which was proving to be hell on his equilibrium) As Shikamaru walked, he swayed. /Sasuke did, not Shikamaru, because Shikamaru's too manly to sway… unless, of course, he's drunk/ too shocked to walk in a straight line. Kakashi and Iruka; locks of silver and brown hair mingling together on a satin pillow case, expanses of pale and tan skin moving fluidly against each other, eyes of blue/red and brown shining beneath heavy lidded eyes. It was… the im- the idea that… it was so, so… so attractive he couldn't STAND it!

It was, in all its disturbingness and attractiveness incredibly- "Kawaii," he muttered, swaying full force into a fairly full trash can, knocking and tripping over it as another image of "togetherness" popped into his mind. "They're so cute." said while lying gracefully in a pile of rotting banana peels.

At the sound of the crash, Shikamaru's hand instinctively flitted to his weapons pouch. He turned around, half expecting to be greeted by a raving mad Uchiha, hell bent on destroying every one in his path, yet to his disappointment it was only a severely shocked Uchiha hell bent on running into everything in his path. Shikamaru's eyebrow rose at the banana peel hanging off his shoulder. "You ran into a trash can." He mumbled, taking his cigarettes' out of his pocket. He hastily pushed his mask away from his face / you can't very well smoke while your mouth is being covered now can you/ He took a couple of long drags of the smoke, savoring the taste of tobacco that lingered on his tongue.

He glanced at the Uchiha again; he was still gazing at the world with unseeing eyes. "Are you that troubled about them being together? I mean I was shocked too, at first, but then I remembered seeing signs before they told us they were together. Like before your team went on a particularly hard mission, he would sneak off to Iruka's for what I'm guessing was a midnight of fun." A minute later he regretted telling the Uchiha that, for now it looked like he had stopped breathing. 'Are you that much of a homophobe?' he wanted to ask, but he felt the Uchiha wouldn't hear him if he did. "And what troubles me more is that banana peel on your kimono, it smells horrible." He said, moving to retrieve said offending fruit. Just at that moment though, Sasuke woke from his bout of shockedness and turned slightly, causing Shikamaru's fingers to brush against his exposed collarbone. Shikamaru drew his hand back at once, making another grab for the peel that was originally his target. He flung it as far as he could then turned on his heel stalking, hands thrust deep into his pockets, in the direction of Hokage Headquarters.

Sasuke swayed leisurely after him, completely forgetting the pair of men he had been imagining. Well for now, that is. "Pick up your pace Uchiha! We've dallied long enough as it is. At this rate the Hokage's gonna have my head on a platter and your balls on a plate." Sasuke gulped unconsciously. "And if that wasn't stimulation enough I'll put you under shadow possession again and make you walk into the ladies bath. Old ladies enjoy taking their baths at this time of day, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to have a young one like yourself join them." He threatened over his shoulder.

Sasuke groaned in reply, but did as the ANBU ordered nonetheless, having a gut instinct that he would make good on his word if he were to disobey.

(A/N: SKIP SKIP TRALALALA till Hokage headquarters comes into view because I'm a lazy ass and hate describing a lot of shite……gomen)

It hadn't changed THAT much, the Hokage Headquarters hadn't. It was still that rusted red color that it always had been, the color he remembered from his youth. But the green band that ran under the ridge of the curved roof looked to be just repainted. A railing, a much needed improvement, had been added to the outside of the ne'er ending steps; which made sense seeing as he felt a warring period would soon be upon them. And in times like that, no one needed un-needed deaths.

"Stop gawking, we have a long climb ahead of us." Shikamaru growled.

Sasuke ignored him, giving the outside of the building another once over, trying to emblazon the symbol near the top of the dome in his mind. Something yanked hard at the strings of his memory, he found himself turning slightly, and out of the corner of his vision he spied an old swing slightly obscured by a patch of hanging vines.

_Flashback: (yes I'll have flashbacks but not many)_

_It was a Wednesday, long, long ago, before he had betrayed the village, before he had formed a bond with Naruto, before being assigned to Team 7, and more importantly, before his brother massacred the clan; when he had first noticed that swing, hanging just as forlornly as it did presently, and the person that occupied it, accentuating the depression of the abandoned area. It had been more like a grove of vines back then._

_He had gotten out of school late, for one of his sensei's had felt that if he didn't praise the great Uchiha Itachi's little brother for doing yet another excellent job in whatever nonsensical training game they had done that day that something terribly terrible would happen to him. Therefore, by the time his sensei had run out of air for praise, the school halls and yard had been long deserted._

_Upon exiting the building, a faint sobbing had caught his ear. __It __was__ drifting from the very corner of the school yard, which he usually ignored because it was oh so very dark in that corner, and being a child he still held an irrational fear for the unknowingness that wafted from said darkness. Also, being a mere child, curiosity still held sway over him__. Succumbing to such childish desires, he crept in the direction of the noise, employing the stealth skills his aniki had unwillingly taught him._

_As he inched closer to the grove, splotches of orange began to seep out at him through t__he green of the leaves, eventually forming the texture of a sweater set (not sure what they're clothes are called, but if I had to describe narut- oops. __Spoiled... oh well, __If I had to describe the person's clothes I'd either say and orange jumpsuit or a sweater set so there sticks tongue out), orange as the top flame of a candle or most of a tigers fur, neck a cottony white. Sun-kissed hands clutched firmly to the fraying rope holding the swing up. _

_Sasuke remembered seeing this boy in the village from time to __time__ and wandering the halls of the school__. But never had he seen the boy this close up. __In fact he was close enough to see three whisker-like scars on each of the boys' cheeks, and the blueness of his eyes that shone fiercely with tears beneath the fringe of his blonde hair._

_Sasuke withdrew from the grove quickly, feeling as if he had stumbled upon a scene he shouldn't have had privy to see. From that day forward, not an hour went by without that image floating though his mind._

_End Flashback__ (A/N: well wasn't that nice. Queen: it sucked #&. K-C: QUEEN__ DON'T BE SO RUDE!)_

Sasuke trooped after Shikamaru with downcast eyes. He never liked remembering that boy, especially in light of recent events. For it got him all worked up over the no doubt quickly approaching reunion. Shikamaru was already half way up the steps. By the time he caught up with him, he was sweating like a pig and could barely stand. He was, too put it in a metaphor or semaphore or what have you, dog tired. He hadn't gotten much sleep in the past weeks, convinced that if he let his guard down for even a second that someone would pop out of the bushes and kill him; whether they be Akatsuki or ninja from Konoha.

"There are too many damn steps Shikamaru!" he whined, collapsing to the ground. Thankfully the steps were wide enough for him to lean on them without falling down. Because Shikamaru didn't seem to be paying attention to him, he grabbed at the ANBU's right shin, causing him to stumble on the steps a bit. Before he could shout out "rape" he was yanked off the steps and shoved firmly into the wall, scratchy plaster snagging at the threads of his kimono.

Shikamaru's forearm was pressing against his throat, causing his breathing to come in short and harried gasps. He held his right wrist in a death grip and was pinning it above his head. "Never," Shikamaru hissed, applying more pressure to the missing-nin's throat. "Never do that again!" he glared, ignoring the fervent scratching of nails on his arm.

Sasuke could feel the color leaving his face…rather the pale color of his face leaving to be replaced by the purple color one receives from not breathing for awhile. Darkness began to crowd around the edge of his vision. "Shi-ka…n't...Bre-athe!" he choked out, fighting to stay conscious. Shikamaru's eyes softened, he slowly removed his arm. The Uchiha promptly collapsed back onto the step, clutching at his throat, as if it would squeeze the breath into him.

"Come on… We don't have that many steps left. You can make it. I'll help you if I have to." Sasuke glanced up to see an extended gloved hand. He ignored the act of kindness, standing up on his own accord. He didn't even bother to straighten out his kimono.

"Look… God Sasuke, I'm sorry for almost choking you… it was an…an involuntary movement. I didn't mean to push you against the wall I swear!" Shikamaru lied, running his fingers through his spiky ponytail. He didn't know why he was apologizing to the missing-nin, after hating him for all these years, but something about that wounded expression he had unknowingly adopted when he was about to get pummeled warranted any harm done to him to be apologized for.

He glanced at Sasuke, who was looking at the ground with forlorn eyes again. "By gods I didn't use that much force but you seem to have been struck dumb! How troublesome,"

Sasuke huffed in reply and began to climb the steps alone. Five steps later he abruptly turned, a delightfully pouty expression adorning his lips. "You coming?" the missing-nin asked. Shikamaru grinned slightly. "Duh, it'd be a black mark on my record if I let your wretched missing-nin ass wander around the place."

The Uchiha "harrumphed" once more.

At last the monstrous steps of Hokagedon were conquered, and their prizes awaiting the brave ninja's near the entrance of the Hokage's abode. A beautiful woman (possibly in her mid thirties) wearing a black kimono and a… a…"Pig?"

Shikamaru shoved down his mask, at the same time sweeping into a low bow for the lady. "Ohayou, Shizune-sama, have you been waiting long?"

A well discerned kick was aimed at the missing-nin, causing him to double over in a forced bow. "No.. I've not been waiting long, but the same can't be said about the Hokage. Early this morning she received a very noisy messenger bird carrying a note proclaiming that one of the Uchiha's had been spotted heading this way. Therefore she's been antsy all morning. Your helpful messenger wasn't of much help either. I believe he's been hospitalized with busted eardrums."

Shikamaru stiffened. It seemed, like his father before him, he held some sort of fear/respect for the busty blonde Hokage. Sasuke would have laughed at this, but was unable to, having no breath to spare a couple of good hearted bellows. He was still recovering from when Shikamaru had choked him. "Well then, we mustn't keep the good Hokage waiting. Heh-heh," He chuckled nervously. Shikamaru did, not Sasuke.

And again they were off… like a herd of turtles for Sasuke, while Shikamaru seemed to disappear in a stream of dust. On the right side of the hall, a large door stood ajar. Shikamaru stood slightly outside of it, waiting for the missing-nin to catch up. Sasuke stumbled through the door, the result of being pushed through it by the ANBU.

As soon as he had straightened up, a sharp intake of breath was heard. He only had time enough to catch a glimpse of blonde hair shimmering in the mid day sunlight before being pulled into a hug so vicious he was sure his back would break from the force of it if the person's arms tightened even an inch more. He couldn't deny that at the sight of the flaxen hair, his heart had leapt a little.

He lifted a hand carefully, to pat spiky hair, but the strands beneath his fingers were silky and straight, so unlike the texture he remembered from four years ago. Besides that, something about the way the body felt pressed against his was… odd.

A firm voice spoke from somewhere ahead of him. He hadn't realized he had closed his eyes. "Ino-chan," Sasuke's eyes shot open, heart plummeting. "Please detach yourself from Uchiha-san at once. We've serious business to attend to." _Ino? _The person hugging him released their death-grip. His pupil's dilated in shock. _I could've sworn it was his hair. I swear it… I heard his voice I did…. I had to have. Unless… unless it was an _"Illusion." He muttered under his breath

Ino…Ino "pig" as he remembered Sakura lovingly call her, looked up at him shyly, pale green eyes sparkling with happiness, a slight blush covering her cheeks. "Sasuke, you've come b-ack." She whispered in a strained voice, the result (no doubt) of trying to hold off some emotion of elation.

Sasuke didn't hear her though, still troubled by what he saw. Or to be more exact, what wasn't there. Too lost in thought was he over seeing that which was not there; though if Sasuke sniffed hard enough, he could smell his scent. Experiencing something with that absent something that undoubtedly would not happen, no matter how much he wished it would.

"Uchiha-san, please have a seat. You too, Shikamaru-kun, I'm not done with you yet." Shikamaru froze mid-step, foiled in his plan to escape the terrible aura of the atmosphere. Reluctantly he sat down next to the Uchiha, in the chair that had been resurrected for him. It was straight-backed and very wooden; very unlike the Uchiha's chair, which at least had some cushioning.

Sasuke stared blankly at the woman sitting across from him, discreetly examining the faint wrinkles that marred her once flawless face and seeking out the streaks of gray scattered about her golden blonde hair. _It's a duller color than HIS._ She had ditched the beige kimono she always used to wear, now adorning the customary Hokage robes of old.

Ino stood to the left of Tsunade's chair; Shizune to the right, flanking her like guards would a prisoner or a king. Shikamaru was trying to get as comfortable as he could in his torture device; slouching so that his ass almost slipped off the lip of the chair, arms thrown across his chest, feet hooked at the ankle. Needless to say the tension in the room was…Murderous.

"First things first; Uchiha-san, why have you come back?"

He nearly choked. The tone she was using with him screamed disapproval. And if there was one thing he couldn't take at that moment; that was it. He stared at the ground intently, refusing to meet the Hokage's golden eyes. He clenched and unclenched his hands in his lap. "I-i…I don't know." He muttered sheepishly.

"Now Uchiha-san, I can hardly believe you unconsciously made your way here on a passing fancy. What are your intentions?" she asked again, more firmly than before. He could feel three pairs of eyes drilling into his skull.

"Come now, be nice and tell us something. Something other than 'I don't know' that's a boring answer. I'll even let you make something up, but I'm not gonna let you go without a good explanation."

Sasuke cleared his throat. "It… um… It was my intention to… to… to serve under the title of a Hidden Leaf Ninja once more!"

He cringed as his last words echoed back at him.

"Hmph. Is that so?"

He nodded.

"Very well then; if that's what you wish; Shikamaru,"

Shikamaru shot out of his chair and saluted the Hokage. He had been about to drift off to sleep, from the bewildered look in his eyes. "Yes Ma'am!" (A/N: a very un-Shikamaru like reply I know but I'm rushing to get this chapter finished because I've dallied long enough on it. Gomen)

"You shall be in charge of watching Uchiha-san as he does community service for… how many years have you been gone?" asked of Sasuke.

"About eight years."

"For… he'll be doing community service for 80 hours." Sasuke expected a rise out of Shikamaru, something like 'too troublesome' and 'I'm an ANBU now I'm not supposed to be babysitting a missing-nin' but no outburst came. His only reply was "Yes MA'AM!"

"Good, now Ino-chan"

"Yes!"

"Bring me THAT package!"

Ino paled considerably. "B…But Hokaga-sama, THAT package is only supposed to be unearthed in an emergency!"

"Darling, I think a missing-nin wanting to rejoin our villages constitutes as an emergency. Now if you don't get THAT package right now, I'll see to it that Chouji-kun is sent out on longer and more dangerous missions."

A flash of white-blonde hair, the next thing Sasuke knew, Ino was shoving a tightly wrapped package (white paper wrapping with black string tying it closed) into his arms. She backed away quickly, as if the package contained some ugly disease she didn't want to catch. "Open it when you get outside. We don't want the evilness of what the package contains to spread where important business is done."

With that Shikamaru and Sasuke were physically thrown from the room, and into the opposite wall. The force of the impact was sure to leave a dent in the wall, and in the ninja's stomachs and or backs, whichever they hit the wall with. Oh and OF COURSE they just had to throw the ANBU out first; who landed painfully on the hard marbleize ground, the missing-nin landed with a plop on top of him.

"My, my Iruka-chan, what a strange day we're having. First you get attacked by a group of raving mad women and now this; Shikamaru being molested by some strange boy in a dress." Wafted the calm and collected voice of the former leader of Team 7.

There was a collective giggle from somewhere above Sasuke's head, then an abrupt silence. "I don't think that's any boy in a dress, Kaka-chan. That looks like-"

"NO WAY IT CAN'T BE!

"Sasuke Uchiha!" said in a collective yell from both men. They seemed to have synchronized perfectly with each other.

_Synchronized…together…_ Instantly the Uchiha's face was as red as a tomato. He shot away from the downed ANBU and his former teachers, and into the wall, wide eyed and breathing heavily. They looked the same as he remembered…. Well except Iruka seemed to have adopted a much femmier way of dress. (i.e.- the jacket he wore had some fur on it)

_Female uke…_ Once again Sasuke blushed furiously, but this time he had the decency to hide it a little, with a forearm to be exact. Kakashi caught his former students strangeness. "Yo." He hailed /Shikamaru, leaning to help the stunned ANBU up. "What's wrong with him… More importantly; what's he doing here?" he said, jabbing his thumb in the missing-nin's direction.

"Oh…about that; I told him about you guys not too long ago. I think he's still stunned."

There was an immediate twinkle in Kakashi's eye.

"Damn, what are you planning to do to the poor kid?" Shikamaru asked, catching the glint.

Kakashi pushed his mouth mask up suspiciously, chuckling. "You'll find out soon enough. Why's he here again?" Shikamaru pointed to the white package, whose paper had been disturbed in the flinging into the wall bit; disturbed enough for some of the white packaging to be pushed aside revealing grass green. "Is that?"

"Yes, yes it is."

"Poor kid, I hope he survives it. Now what was I planning to do again? Oh yes," He grabbed at Iruka, who was chatting amicably with the still stunned missing-nin, and began fervently molesting him. Fervently meaning fully, meaning actually removing his mask so that he could better shove his tongue down Iruka's throat. He massaged his hips with his thumbs while pressing him into the wall.

Iruka responded well, for having the man on him so suddenly. _Must happen often._ Sasuke thought, before realizing what he was seeing. Iruka was moaning into Kakashi's mouth, pulling him closer with a leg wrapped around his waist. It was when Kakashi's hand found it's way past the fringe of his jacket that he remembered where he was, and in whose company. He forcefully broke away from Kakashi's mouth…. "Kakashi," he pant scolded. "Not here, at home it's okay, but in front of the Hokage's office?! You should know better!"

"I'm so sorry about that, Sasu-chan. Kakashi is just so lascivious it's hard to keep him off… of… me. Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun?"

Said Sasuke was horribly out of it. A healthy gush of blood flowed freely from his nose. His eyes were vacant and he seemed to be trying to hide something with the huge bow that tied his kimono. Iruka glanced questiongly at Kakashi, who was seeing how the ANBU had taken it; it being Iruka and him.

"Similarly, but with no trace of blood to be found,"

"Then Sasuke's a pervert, huh Kaka-chan?"

"Yes, Yes indeed. Well for now anyways." Kakashi snaked an arm around Iruka's waist and began to lead him away. "Oh and Sasuke-kun?" there was a grunt of a reply. "You don't have to worry about meeting HIM too soon. He and his team left yesterday on a mission. They shouldn't be back for a day or two." Kakashi shouted over his shoulder.

Mention of the blonde ninja shook the missing-nin from his coma like state. "I wonder how he knew."

"Knew what?" Shikamaru asked, also overcoming his shock of seeing him and Sasuke in the teacher's places. (A/N: I think I'm gonna add ShikaSasu to the list of pairings, though it more one sided than… ya. He's just lusting after him for the time being.)

"That I'm fretting over seeing Naruto again… I guess. I mean, I didn't think it was that obvious that I was looking for him."

Shikamaru frowned. "It isn't. Though I kind of figured you' be that way, anxious to see him. I mean you are his- were his rival and friend, and you so suddenly turned against him. Hell I'd be anxious too, if I'd done something like that to Chouji-kun and if I knew I'd have to face him again and the fact that I betrayed him."

The missing-nin cringed at the word "betrayed" biting back a comment he would undoubtedly regret , if it be slipped to this acquaintance of his.

"So you wanna know what in the package?" Shikamaru asked, holding the object up. The wrapping was even more frayed, having been caught in Kakashi and Iruka's path of…. Make-out paradise. Sasuke quickly moped up the dried blood on his face, and then seized the package from the ANBU.

Sasuke fumbled with the string, not wanting to rip the packaging more than it already had been. Eventually the ribbon fell away, as did the material wrapped around the object, revealing… Shikamaru covered his ears.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

THE END OF CHAPTER FOUR

So sorry it took so long to update, I was in the process of moving and going to a new school and other shite, plus writers block and transferring things and…. Well ya it's been a very hectic two months…. Any way, finally got it up! Don't you guys love me or what for giving you another chapter, though it's not as well written as I'd like it to be.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last three chapters. Makes me feel good that people enjoy my writings.

If anyone has any suggestions as to what Sauke should do for community service, please send me a messege or include it in a review. I'd appreciate it if you did. : sincerely KC and _Queen_


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